Need to replace a Sebo Felix...

[tseg]

Long story, but am donating a 10-year-old Sebo Felix/ET-1 to an ex-family member. Now I will need to replace... will be kept on a single floor, 50/50 mix of hardwood and rugs, 5 rooms and 1 foyer.

I really liked the Felix... but areas for improvement: a bit top heavy, a bit cumbersome to toggle use of floor brush on/off, a bit cumbersome to adjust floor height, no headlight and hand-held hose a bit cumbersome. All combined, it was really good but less than perfect.

I now have my eye on a Sebo X7 Cat & Dog... but I believe brush roll cannot be turned off but all else address the weaknesses I found in the Felix. FYI, I will not actually have a cat or dog.

Thoughts on what I should be considering?

 

[joshp83]

Hi Tseg,
I own both a Felix and an X7, and am happy to share my thoughts. I agree that the X7 addresses most of your critiques of the Felix, although it is still somewhat top heavy since the hose intake is on the top of the machine. You are correct, you cannot shut off the brush roll and if your hard floors are actually hardwood, I'm not sure that would be an ideal long term setup. I've watched several videos of owners using the X7 on hard floors, but I don't do it myself. Sebo does make a "delicate" brush roll, which might be better for hard flooring and still work fine on your rugs. Perhaps another member has more experience there.
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Hardwood aside, the headlight is bright and the automatic height adjustment is great. The hose/wand setup takes a little getting used to, but is more versatile than the Felix due to the built-in wand. I would skip the X4 model; in addition to the headlight, the Boost feature on the X7 is awesome on very low pile rugs.

With your Felix- did you use the hard floor parquet tool or just use the power nozzle? I trust that you're confident in your assessment of the Felix, and only ask because it is generally considered one of the best uprights for hard floors (when used with the a hard floor tool).

You could also consider other uprights like a Riccar 25 Series or (recently discontinued) Miele U1. Those machines should be in a similar price point and you can turn the brush roll off for hard floor use. Both are also less top heavy when using the hose. Or perhaps consider buying an inexpensive straight-suction canister or stick-vac to supplement the X7 on your hard floors. If you can test drive before you buy, definitely do so.

Best of luck!

 

[tseg]

Joshp83, great critique of the X7 and helpful. Good point about the soft brush. My other 2 vacuums are a U1 and a C3. My Felix only had the ET-1 head, which was generally adequate for hard wood. The U1 is super heavy and I use in my finished basement with wall-to-wall Berber carpet. I'm not a fan of pulling my C3 from room to room, navigating around a lot of walls and corners. With that said, the C3 parquet attachment is truly amazing on wood floors... but dislike swapping out attachments all the time. I either have to swap out in every room, or go through the whole floor twice, once on the hard wood sections with the parquet, the 2nd with the powered head over the rugs.

I may have to research that Riccar 25.

 

[beagledad]

If you don't mind a half day or so of construction then maybe a central vacuum would work well for you. You can have one installed for the price of a top of the line canister or upright. No canister to pull behind you and you can switch off the power nozzle and go from carpet to bare floor. Also effortless above floor cleaning.

 

[o0john0o]

Miele C3 With Electo Brush and Parquet Brush

When it comes to 50/50, I'm a big fan of canister vacuums. I'd look at the Miele C3 line with the electro brushes that height adjust and then purchase their parquet hard floor brush separately to clean your hard floors.

I have a Felix, but I recently purchased a Miele Alize for my hard floors and I love it. The exhaust air is cool to mild warm, it filters very good, and it has very good suction on hard floors.

I'm still keeping my Felix for my area rugs. It's built like a tank and should last a long, long time. But if I could only have one vacuum, it would be a Miele C3 with electro brush and parquet brush.

Hope that helps.

 

[o0john0o]

Quick Correction to My Post Above.

The exhaust air does not come out cool to mild warm.

It exhausts mild warm to warm.